LOS ANGELES — Dodgers MVP Shohei Ohtani didn’t homer, or do anything spectacular, but his bat certainly made a fabulous first impression.

Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, who fans were trying to run out of town just a few weeks ago, had the game of his life.

Hyesong Kim, the Dodgers’ free-agent signing who drew barely any attention, showed why the Dodgers think he’ll be a star.

And, there was Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who is quickly establishing himself as the ultimate Yankee killer, performing his magic again.

By the end of Saturday night, the Dodgers showed the New York Yankees that the World Series runs through Los Angeles, routing the Yankees, 18-2, in front of 51,746 fans screaming like it was October once again.

It was the Yankees’ most-lopsided loss since 2019, and 16 years since they’ve lost by a bigger margin.

‘You could say it was a statement,’ said Muncy, who hit two home runs and drove in a career-high seven runs. ‘And for us to do it without [injured] Mookie [Betts] also is huge for everyone trying to pick up the slack in the lineup. It’s big for the boys.’

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who celebrated his 53rd birthday Saturday, wasn’t about to create any back-page material for October, but acknowledged the impact of knocking off the Yankees in consecutive games, picking up right where they left off last October.

“It’s certainly sweet to win any game,’’ Roberts said, “but to beat those guys is always good. It always feels good to beat the Yankees. You know, they’re the class of the American League right now, and anytime you can beat those guys, you feel good.’’

The terrifying aspect for everyone else is that if the Dodgers can pummel the Yankees with 14 pitchers currently on the injured list, with Betts out for the series with a broken toe, and Ohtani not expected to resume pitching until after the All-Star break, how powerful will they be when they get the band back together?

The Dodgers came into the weekend series having lost seven of their last 12 games, and were just 26-22 since their 8-0 start. Yet, they turned around and beat up Yankees ace Max Fried and starter Will Warren on back-to-back nights, outscoring the Yankees 24-2 in the last 13 innings. They’ve suffocated everyone in the Yankees’ lineup but Aaron Judge, who has hit three homers this series.

“You know the last couple of weeks has certainly been a grind with all of the stuff we’ve been going through,’’ Roberts said. “But obviously when you get the Yankees and fans get into it, it just kind of infuses some excitement into the clubhouse and guys showed up and given what these fans want. It’s been a fun series for us. … It’s kind of like that playoff environment.’’

So, considering they knocked off the Yankees in the World Series last season, are the Dodgers making a powerful statement by whipping them again?

“No, I wouldn’t say statement, that’s a good club over there,’’ Roberts said. “I’m just happy with the process and how we’re taking the field and going about playing baseball …

“We’ve sort of been playing middling baseball for a while now, so maybe it took a club like the Yankees to get us reset and step our game up.’’

The truth is that the Dodgers offense has been lethal since April 22, scoring 240 runs — 51 more than any team in baseball, averaging 6.9 runs a game. Ohtani tied a franchise record with 15 homers in May. Kim, who opened the year in the minors, reached base in all five plate appearances with two singles, double, homer and walk. Muncy, who was hitting .190 with one homer and a .599 OPS before May 14, has since hit .298 with a 1.048 OPS, including four homers and 22 RBI.

“Max, it’s been a tough one to start,’’ Roberts said, “but I give him a lot of credit. He hasn’t wavered from the work. He hasn’t run from the criticism. And he’s showing up every day to play and help us win a ballgame.

And, of course, there’s Freeman, who’s hitting a National League-leading .374 with a 1.078 OPS.

This is a guy who turned the World Series upside down a year ago when he pulled off his Kirk Gibson moment with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning, hitting .300 with four homers and 12 RBI while winning the World Series MVP.

Now, he’s performing an encore.

Freeman went 2-for-3 with an RBI, hitting his 525th career double that tied Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Ted Williams for 46th place on the all-time list, while continuing to torment the Yankees. In his last seven games against the Yankees, he is hitting .407 with four homers, three doubles, one triple and 14 RBI.

“I mean, he handles everything in the zone,’’ Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said. “He’s so short to the ball, fastballs, off-speed pitches. He’s always in a good position to hit.

“That’s why he’s one of the best hitters in the league and has been for 10 or 15 years. …I can go on and on, he’s such a professional hitter, and a lot of those guys are in that lineup.’’

That, of course, is why the Dodgers have won two World Series in the past five years, with 11 division titles in the last 12 years.

“I mean, there’s a lot of guys in this clubhouse that never really cease to amaze me,’’ said Muncy, who was presented the lineup card for hitting his career 200th homer. “You can go up and down the lineup. It’s really special when you see the names that are in this clubhouse, and see how hard they work every single day.

“When you have an entire clubhouse of guys that are going to be Hall of Famers, and they’re still showing up every day working like they’re a young guy, I think that just rubs off on everybody.’’

Yep, just ask rookie catcher Dalton Rushing, who hit his first career homer Saturday, with the help of Ohtani’s bat. While Ohtani had retreated to the clubhouse after being taken out of the game, Rushing grabbed one of his bats, seeing if it had the same kind of magic that has helped Ohtani win three MVPs.

Lo and behold, he swung at the first pitch thrown by infielder Pablo Reyes, and sent it 393 feet over the right-field fence.

“He hits plenty of home runs, so I’m sure it can work for someone else, too,’’ Rushing said laughing. “It worked out in my favor.

“Now, I look forward to getting my first one off a real pitcher.’’

For the Dodgers, it has been that kind of weekend.

Follow Bob Nightengale on X @BNightengale.

The defending champion Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers are meeting for the second consecutive year in the Stanley Cup Final.

Same old, same old, right?

Not quite.

Though the core players, coaches and goaltenders are the same, both teams have made important additions, most notably the Panthers.

They were aggressive at the trade deadline, adding All-Star forward Brad Marchand and defenseman Seth Jones to join their offseason depth acquisitions. The Oilers have surrounded their stars with a few different depth players and the team has honed its defensive game.

‘It’s going to be an incredible battle again,’ said Panthers forward Sam Reinhart, who scored last season’s series-clinching goal.

Here’s what’s intriguing about the Stanley Cup Final, which opens on Wednesday in Edmonton, Alberta (8 p.m. ET, TNT, truTV).

Last year’s Final was exciting

It didn’t start that way with the Panthers taking a 3-0 lead in the series and needing one more victory to clinch their first championship. But the Oilers didn’t make it easy. They crushed the Panthers 8-1 in Game 4 and scored five goals in both Games 5 and 6 to tie the series. Just when it seemed the Panthers might be reeling, they found their way again in Game 7 and picked up a 2-1 victory for the title.

Can Connor McDavid win his first title?

The Oilers star has become the NHL’s best player after he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2015. Three MVPs, five scoring titles, one goal title, seven All-Star appearances, the game-winning goal in the 4 Nations Face-Off. The only thing missing is a Stanley Cup ring. He came close last year. He broke Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record with 34 assists in a playoff year and totaled 42 points. That made him a rare Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) winner from the losing team, but he stayed with his teammates rather than accept the individual award. That Game 7 loss has driven him and the team. He’s leading the league in playoff assists and points again and had a crucial goal in the series clincher vs. the Dallas Stars.

Aleksander Barkov is a shutdown star

The Panthers captain is one of the top defensive forwards in the league and is favored to win his third Selke Trophy. Linemate Sam Reinhart is also up for the award. That line could be deployed against McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, though Edmonton will have the last line change in four of the games. Barkov had his own special move in the Panthers’ series clincher vs. the Carolina Hurricanes.

Will Canada’s Stanley Cup drought finally end?

No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens. A Canadian team has been to the Final eight times since then, including this year. The Oilers pushed the series to seven games in their last two visits. Edmonton won the Stanley Cup five times (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990) before the Canada drought began.

Panthers can achieve dynasty status

The state of Florida has become a hockey hotbed with the Tampa Bay Lightning reaching the Final from 2020-22 (winning the first two years) and the Panthers reaching from 2023-25. Win a second consecutive title and the Panthers dynasty talk could start. They’re deep and have multiple-time All-Star Marchand on the third line. It might be hard to keep the team together because Sam Bennett (league-best 10 goals), Marchand, Aaron Ekblad and others are pending unrestricted free agents, and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has one more year left on his deal. But the salary cap is going up, giving the Panthers flexibility.

Rematch doesn’t mean the same result

The Detroit Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008 and the Penguins returned the favor the following year to give Sidney Crosby his first title. The same thing happened in 1983 and 1984. The New York Islanders swept the Oilers for their fourth title in a row. But Edmonton won in 1984 as Wayne Gretzky and company began their own dynasty.

Jeff Skinner gets his chance in playoff spotlight

The 2010-11 rookie of the year never made the playoffs in his first 13 NHL seasons. But he did this season after signing with the Oilers in the offseason, only to be a healthy scratch after suiting up in the playoff opener. However, an injury to Zach Hyman gave him an opportunity to play again. He scored in his return to the lineup.

Stuart Skinner can build up his reputation

The netminder got to Game 7 of the final last year but goaltending wasn’t considered an Oilers strength heading into this postseason. Skinner was benched after two playoff games and backup Calvin Pickard won six in a row. But an injury to Pickard put Skinner back in the net, and he finished off the Vegas Golden Knights with back-to-back shutouts. He also outplayed Stars goalie Jake Oettinger in the conference final.

Both coaches are masterful

Florida’s Paul Maurice has made the Final in his first three seasons with the Panthers. Edmonton’s Kris Knoblauch has done it his first two seasons as an NHL head coach. Both are strong at adjustments. Witness how last year’s series had such wild swings. Those adjustments have continued his year. Maurice switched out his fourth line after losing the first two games in the second round before his team won in seven games. Knoblauch benched Skinner to give the goalie a chance to reset. Both coaches are highly quotable.

You’ll see many of these players at the Olympics

Nine Panthers took part in the 4 Nations Face-Off, with Matthew Tkachuk (USA), Bennett, Marchand and Reinhart (Canada), Barkov and others (Finland) and Gustav Forsling (Sweden) leading the way. Edmonton had three players, led by Canada’s McDavid. Draisaitl will play for Germany in 2026 and other players from these teams could make the Olympics.

The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports’ newsletter.

I’ve covered the NFL just about my entire adult life, over 30 years, and there was often this axiom that still exists: the NFL is dead in the month of June. No one cares about it. Everything shuts down. Interest dies. The league basically disappears from the minds of fans.

But is that really true?

There’s a phrase that’s become one of my favorites: ‘narrative dominance.’ It’s used a lot in politics, but it applies to this idea about the NFL. The narrative is that you, the NFL fan, ceases caring about the league in the month of June. So let’s test that narrative.

USA TODAY Sports will publish a story each day of the month for Project: June. We will cover the NFL universe from the lighthearted to the serious.

If you wish you could draft your fantasy team now starting with that No. 1 overall selection (pick Ja’Marr Chase first, trust me on this), this series is for you. If you dream of season openers, tune in. If the Eagles’ various Super Bowl celebrations dance in your head, over and over…and over, this is your place.

There seems to be always an NFL itch, and we will scratch it for you. Or something like that.

I once had a conversation with Hall-of-Famer Michael Strahan and he mentioned how important it was to take some time away from football after the season, but by the time the summer came around, he deeply missed it.

You may feel the same way. If you do, this will be the place for you in June.

All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter.

Sigh of relief.

Exhale of joy.

Probably a bit of both for the Indiana Pacers, and the percentage of relief vs. joy depends on the person.

No matter how one dissects the emotion, the Pacers did what they needed to do and eliminated the New York Knicks wth a 125-108 victory in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals Saturday night.

Indiana avoided a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden and bypassed the prospect of blowing a 3-1 series lead in advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.

‘To be able to win the series the way we did today at home in front of our fans is huge,’ Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. ‘You never want to go back on the road in Game 7. And so we’re grateful. We’re grateful for a lot of things today.’

Indiana has never won an NBA championship. It lost to the Lakers in six games in 2000 and won three ABA titles in 1970, 1972 and 1973. It joined the NBA in 1976.

The Pacers have had quality squads with Larry Brown, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Carlisle and Frank Vogel coaching. But until Saturday, only Bird, with Reggie Miller starring on the court, took the Pacers to the Finals.

Owner Herb Simon has been an outstanding steward. Despite no championship for the franchise, the Pacers have been a competitive mid/small-market team for decades. They have had fewer than 35 victories just four times since 1990.

It’s a small-market dream, in part due to the NBA’s collective-bargaining agreement with players that aimed to give more teams the opportunity to compete for a title – if well managed. Indiana and Oklahoma City are exactly that.

This Pacers squad earned this Finals appearance, beating Milwaukee and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the first round, No. 1 seed Cleveland and their All-Stars (albeit injured) in the second, and then dismissed New York, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

That’s an impressive run for a No. 4 seed. Of course, that four seed is not representative of how the Pacers finished the season after starting 10-15. From Jan. 1 through the end of the regular season, the Pacers were one of the best teams. They had the fourth-most victories, the No. 7 offense, the No. 9 defense and the No. 6 net rating.

As Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson pointed out multiple times: “They press for 48 minutes and they run faster than anybody in the league. We have the data.”

The Pacers have the personnel – starters and reserves – to play that style. Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam are All-Stars. In Game 6, Siakam had 31 points, five rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal, earning the conference finals MVP. Haliburton had 21 points, 13 assists, six rebounds and three steals – his ninth double-double in 16 playoff games. They went 10-deep against the Knicks and regularly beat them down the court for open shots. And they made 3-pointers – 17-for-33 in a close-out game while holding the Knicks to 28.1% shooting on 3s.

“It’s a special time to be a Pacers fan and to be a part of this organization,’ Haliburton said. ‘And we just have great people in that locker room from our players to our coaches to our support staff to our ballboys to everybody that is a part of this. So it’s a really special feeling. And I can ramble and ramble and ramble and I probably am right now, but I just think I can’t put into words how special this group is and how much this means to us.

‘We’re going to enjoy it for the night and then as a group come together and get ready for what’s in front of us. What’s in front of us is the first of four, and we understand we’ve got a big challenge in front of us.’

In 2½ decades, Carlisle ‒ in his second stint with the Pacers after 13 seasons with Dallas that yielded a title in 2011 ‒ has proven himself one of the NBA’s best coaches, adapting to different eras, styles and personnel. As he has gotten older and wiser, he has ceded control, allowing a star like Haliburton to run the offense without Carlisle dictating every possession.

The reward for winning the East? A Finals matchup against Oklahoma City, the best team in the league.

‘This is no time to be popping champagne,’ Carlisle said. ‘And when you get to this point of the season, it’s two teams and it’s one goal. And so it becomes an all or nothing thing. And we understand the magnitude of the opponent. Oklahoma City has been dominant all year long with capital letters in the word dominant defensively.’

The Pacers are underdogs. But with the Knicks behind them, they’re not just relieved or overjoyed to be there.

(This story was updated with additional information.)

Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders gave his first extensive remarks about his quarterback son Shedeur’s disappointing NFL draft experience, saying the ordeal “did hurt” him emotionally and disputed claims that Shedeur acted unprofessionally in pre-draft interviews with NFL teams.

Sanders spoke about it in a podcast on Friday with former NFL cornerback Asante Samuel after dealing with an unspecified health issue in recent weeks at his estate in Texas. His son was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round in April after previously being projected by experts as a first-round pick.

“When you sit up there and say something like he went into a meeting unprepared, like dude, Shedeur Sanders, who’s had six different coordinators?” Deion Sanders said on the podcast.

He said claims about his son’s professionalism were untrue and said to “stop lying.”

“They want to create these narratives and create these stories and then attach them to a kid that ain’t never done nothing wrong,” Sanders said.

One rumor was that Shedeur wore headphones to a team meeting.

Sanders shot that down.

“You gonna tell me he had on headphones, Shedeur?” Deion Sanders asked. “Anybody know my son understand he’s a professional. Like he’s gonna go into a meeting with headphones on?”

Samuel told him Shedeur is a “dawg” who would “rise to the top.”

Sanders then admitted how the situation made him feel.

“It did hurt,” Sanders said. “It did hurt.”

But he said two of his sons are using their NFL draft disappointments as motivation and that both were “built” for this situation. His middle son Shilo, a safety, was not drafted and instead signed with Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent. Deion Sanders cited the case of legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady as an example after Brady was selected in the sixth round of the draft in 2000.

“The Bible says God uses the foolish things to confound the wise, so it was some foolish stuff that went on, but you know what? That gave them something that they needed … like that edge that Tom had,” Sanders said.

Sanders, 57, has been out of the media spotlight since the NFL draft in April and suggested it was related to a health issue.

“I hope you’re feeling better,” Samuel said to Sanders.

Sanders said “what I’m dealing with right now is at whole nother level” but said he’s coming back after losing about 14 pounds. He previously had several surgeries to deal with blood clots in his legs.

His Buffaloes team opens the season on Aug. 29 at home against Georgia Tech.